THE Empire State has been tossed into turmoil by the Emperors Club, a high-end prostitution ring that apparently counted New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer as a client. Spitzer’s stunning betrayal of his family and his apparent disregard for the law and the moral code he advocated for himself and his administration made his resignation this week both inevitable and appropriate. Lt. Gov. David Paterson, who will succeed him and become New York’s first African-American governor, deserves support as he tries to put the state’s government, and an important reform agenda, back on track.

Spitzer’s sudden downfall is tragic for his three teenage daughters and his wife of 21 years, Silda Wall Spitzer, whose drained visage bore the immensity of what had befallen her family. Repairing the breach of trust with them will be an enormous task for the former state attorney general who took on the titans of Wall Street, insurance companies — and a few prostitution rings. Only the hardest of hearts would not wish him well in that endeavor.

But this is also a tragedy for the people of New York, who sent Spitzer to Albany in 2006 with the largest electoral victory (69 percent) in state gubernatorial history. He promised to shake up the byzantine proceedings at the state Capitol. On that first day alone, he signed good-government executive orders that established ethical guidelines for state employees, sought to curtail the influence of politics on state government and mandated Internet streaming of all meetings of agencies and public authorities subject to the open-meetings law. Much more was promised.

Given the trouble he faces at home and, potentially, with the law, Spitzer’s journey will be a long one.